Goodnight Goodnight
by ilovemoony73
Summary: "I'm sorry, I did not mean to hurt my little girl. It's beyond me, I cannot carry the weight of a heavy world," -Maroon 5.   Remus always comes back to her.


Inspired by Maroon 5's "Goodnight Goodnight." I own nothing but a love for RLNT-shipping.

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><p>Remus stood on the little porch of his own little home, waiting. He had knocked on the door and heard movement inside, which he recognized as Nymphadora climbing slowly down the creaky stairs. He took a deep breath and braced himself for whatever he was about to hear. Remus had decided that he would say what he felt and explain his actions, then let Nymphadora give him her furious speech, from which point he supposed she would probably either begin to cry or yell.<p>

Remus heard the deadbolt slide into place – a sound that made him feel terribly guilty; Dora had never felt they needed to use that lock before he had left—and he heard the lock click back, then the door opened slowly. At first Remus could only see Nymphadora's wide (and at the moment, brown) eyes peeking through the dark fringe that framed her face. She blinked once, hard, and opened the door slowly. She stood straight as always, her lips parted slightly and one hand placed over her stomach.

Nymphadora knew, of course, that the person who had knocked would present no threat to her or her baby; the protective boundaries around the house ensured that. However, she had expected it would be an Order member, visiting to share bad news; or perhaps Molly Weasley, coming to join the young woman for a cup of tea. She did not exactly expect to open the door to see her husband, looking nervous and sorrier by the second. Not so soon after he had left, at least.

"Dora," he began finally, but she cut him off.

"Come in, Remus," she said, almost sounding defeated, yet all the same relieved. She turned and he entered, closing the door behind him: he planned to be staying.

Nymphadora sat down on a couch in the little sitting room just inside the house. She pulled on the long sleeves of her sleeping shirt, grabbing a handful of fabric in each hand and wrapping both fists up. Her legs were curled under her and she watched Remus intently as he crossed from the front door to the parlor and knelt down in front of her. He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted again.

"You're sorry," she said dryly, and he nodded, waiting to see if she was going to continue. After a moment she said, "Why did you leave Remus? Last time—" she swallowed a bitter taste lingering in her mouth—"last time was bad enough. But this," she indicated her stomach; "it's the same reason as last time, really, isn't it? Only this time, you knew you didn't have a hope of 'protecting' me from what I want, who I love. So why did you leave?" Her eyes were shining with tears, but she held her composure.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, darling," he started quietly. She opened her mouth to interject, and it was his turn to cut her off. "When you told me though, Dora, all I could think was how dangerous this could be, and I thought if I was gone, the risk of you being hurt would be gone, too . . . But what has been done is done, and we can't change any of it now if we wanted to. I didn't realize that I would only be hurting you, or I would have never been so foolish. I'm never going to be such an idiot again, Nymphadora; all I ask is you forgive me," he reached a hand out to take hers, and she held her hand for him to take, her eyes not leaving his.

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus," she said, and the tension he had felt was released; he gave a chuckle and she laughed quietly, one of the tears spilling over her eyelids, drawing the thick lashes together. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve in her second hand. "I always forgive you, don't I?" she says after a moment. "This is no different. I'll always forgive you, no matter how stupid you can be," she said with a smirking smile. "Now—err, could we go to bed? I was about to go to sleep when you knocked," she blushed.

Examining her face, Remus saw the dark circles lying under Dora's eyes, and he wondered if she had been sleeping at all. "Of course love," he said, standing. He took off his shoes where he was and pushed them under the coffee table. Although he didn't think she'd be incapable for another number of months, he helped her up and led her to the stairs, walking slowly behind her, his hands on her waist.

Once in their bedroom, she sat on the bed and watched as Remus discarded his jeans and searched for something to sleep in. After pushing through a drawer full of clothes, though, he gave up and decided it was warm enough still, as the summer faded, to go without for a night.

Remus shut the light and climbed into bed with his wife. As Dora settled against him and he wrapped his arms around her, she yawned. "I love you," Remus told her.

"I love you too, honey."

He heard her breathing deepen and become steadier. Remus kissed the top of Nymphadora's head.

"Goodnight."


End file.
